Start Your Ballast Water

Treatment Today to Reduce

Operational Risks
Whitepaper
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CONTENT In 1988, Canada and Australia raised the issue of invasive species
brought to their waters through the discharge of ballast water by
ships. After many years of discussions and negotiations, the Ballast
Water Management Convention (BWMC), administered by IMO, has
1 6 enforced the D-2 Standard Compliance since 8 September 2017.
Introduction Staying compliant with the right
dechlorination chemicals

2 Many vessels have yet to install a Ballast Water In this article, we will not be going through the
Operational Issues 7 Management System, and will continue to practice history of BWMC or the protocols required to install
Standardization using monitoring test kits D-1 standard before September 2024. For those that a Ballast Water Treatment system. Instead, we

3 have, most of them will experience some forms of will be highlighting the various operational issues

Addressing Sedimentation issues 9 operational issues. which come with ballast water management and
the solutions.
in Ballast Water tanks Adopt the “Clean-Comply-Monitor” approach
to tackle potential BWMS operational issues

5
Case Studies 10
Get an early start to be compliant with the
Ballast Water Discharge Standards
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Operational issues
Survey results from Clarkson’s World Fleet
Register show that the Electro-chlorination
(EC) and Ultraviolet (UV) types are the
two predominant ballast water treatment
technologies installed by many vessels
today. For those vessels that have installed
EC systems, it is of paramount importance
to treat the chlorinated water with
dechlorination chemicals before releasing
the discharge water back into the sea. This
is to ensure that there is no overdosage of
chlorine into the open water that might
A recent interview with our customer also
confirmed that they send their discharge water
sample to onshore testing just once a year. This
means that the vessel will not know if the quality
of the discharge water sample complies with the
D-2 standard until the lab results are released
and normally, by then the vessel has already left
the port. Another scenario appears when many
customers are relying heavily on the data shown
on the Total Residual Oxidant (TRO) analyser. The
problem with this is that it might not be clear for all
the crew if they have added the appropriate amount
of dechlorination chemicals to neutralise the total
chlorine. In general, the crew changes every 6 to 8
months, so having a monitoring kit is an essential
part of any good ballast water management plan.
Addressing Sedimentation Issues in Ballast Water tanks
As vessels travel around the world, the water
quality varies significantly based on different water
territories/ locations. The ballast water taken at
source point can contain heavy sedimentation
such as mud and silt, organic compounds, other
dissolved/suspended solids or even invasive
species. Figure 1 shows two bottles of ballast water
collected from the ballast tanks. As observed, the
clear sedimentation layers are formed and the water
is murky. When left over a longer period of time, the
heavier sedimetation in the water will become more
compact and settle at the bottom of the bottle.
Figure 1: Ballast water samples

“
affect aquatic life.
As the market is receiving more
high-level directions from IMO
Another area usually “forgotten” is the cleanliness and USCG/EPA authorities,
of the ballast tank. Typically, the ballast tanks are it remains clear that vessel
only cleaned every 2 to 3 years when there is a dry-
docking. Big surprises of hardened and difficult managers and owners have to
deposits or scales can quickly become a nightmare be active in learning about the
for the cleaning crew in the yard. A team of 6 men
will normally require at least 7 hours of intensive
BWMS and resolving real-time
cleaning and wash-up. The sedimentation collected operational issues. Our “Clean-
over time can also act as a shield to the biological Comply-Monitor” approach can
organisms in the ballast tank. This means that a
vessel can be dosing more chemicals than they
help when you are operating
actually should. your BWMS today.” Figure 2: The two most common ballast water treatment technologies installed by vessels today
April Teo
Business Manager for Oil and Water Solutions

Adopt our “Clean-Comply-Monitor” approach to tackle potential operational

issues and comply with the standards.

CLEAN (C) COMPLY (C) MONITOR (M)

your ballast with the ballast by conducting
tanks regularly water discharge regular sample
to prevent heavy standard using testing during
accumulation of dechlorination voyage and before
sediments chemicals discharge
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On a larger scale, the heavy sedimentation in the
ballast water could potentially foul the ballast
water systems (e.g. the UV lamp and electrolyser).
If a ballast water treatment system is fouled-up, it
may greatly reduce the efficacy of the disinfection
capability. As described above, the accummulated,
dense sedimentation layer can create a blanketing
effect for the invasive alien species. Dang and
Lovell’s 2016 research paper, titled “Microbial
Surface Colonization and Biofilm Development in
Marine Environments”, showed that the growth
rate of biological organisms is rapid, typically
from seconds to days, starting as small bacteria,
but progressing quickly to become larger species.
The worst news a vessel manager could get when it
comes to ballast water, is notification from the lab
of non-compliance due to high biological “off-spec”
readings.
Case Study 1: Customer Trial
During a routine inspection, a customer
found that several of the ballast tank
bottoms were heavily fouled with mud
and silt deposits making accessibility
to maintenance especially challenging.
The conventional method of manually
scooping out the sludge needed to be used, Figure 4: Before Treatment - Heavy deposits found at the bottom of the
exposes crew to difficult working conditions ballast tank

Time Scale (confined space) and requires manhours to

Barnacle Cyprid
B. Amphitrite clean.

2-3 weeks
Treatment Program: In voyage for 48
Bacteria Ulva Diatom hours of settling, followed by 1.5 hours
1 week C. Marina Spores Navicula
for discharging.
1-24h
Benefits: Clean tanks create cost-savings
1 min by reducing the amount of oxidants and
Proteins
dechlorination chemicals. This will also Figure 5: After Treatment - Clean Bottom Plate in Tank Interior Bottom Plate.
Immediate reduce the equipment loading rate and
formation
Electric Double Layer prolong the asset life.
Length Scale
1 nm 100 nm 1 um 10 um 100 um 1 mm

Figure 3: Rapid growth rate of biological organisms

Case Study 2: An example of

cleaning cost required in a Ballast Tank
Singapore ship yard Cleaning

“
Cost
Rationising your vessel spending “In our view, proactive Comparing treatment cost of using Mud &
USD 22,000

with effective treatment ballast water routines Silt Remover against the cleaning cost in a Disposal Cost
Mud & Slit
Having outlined the pain points, it is evident should incorporate the shipyard based in Singapore. USD 10,000
Remover
USD 5,600
that the treatment and removal of such
minimization of ballast tank USD 32,000/ USD 5,600/Vessel/
sedimentation is key to the success of any Benefits: The benefit potential could be
ballast water treatment program. and line sedimentation (to > 50% savings vs cleaning in shipyard. From
Vessel Treatment

prevent biological regrowth

Cleaning and Disposal Using Mud & Slit
a safety management standpoint, men in Singapore Shipyard Remover in Voyage

and equipment fouling) and working inside a confined space (e.g. ballast Basis: treatment cost needs to be assessed depending on the ballasting cycle

discharge water quality tank) can raise concerns if the hours of

cleaning are extended.
management, through a
combination of operational
and chemical approaches”.
Han Ding Hou
Product Marketing Manager for Water Solution
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Standardization using monitoring test kits

Different vessel managers have shared that vessels
could use either EC or UV-type of BWTS depending
on their trade routes. At this moment, the vessel
will only send the treated ballast water sample to an
onshore lab to check for compliance and certification
annually. If the lab report indicates non-compliance,
the vessel manager/ owner will risk spending
unnecessary resources and time to re-deploy the
process again. To solve this painpoint - Ballast Check
2 is a handy, fast fluorometry-based test pen used to
test for algal class 10 uM to 50 uM. It has the ability to
give quick indicative results in less than 2 minutes.
This is one of the 5 parameters tested under IMO
D2 Performance Standard. On bacteria testing such
as E.Coli and Enteroccocci, most of the ship crew is
already familiar with testing as it very similar to the
tests done on potable water.

WSS Indicative
Test Items Lab Testing
Testing

Viable Count
Staying compliant with the right dechlorination chemicals Nil

“
(Zooplankton > 50um)
For EC type BWMS, the unreacted Total Residual Though it is a simple chemical Filtrate 2-3m3 water in
Open Net. Manual count
Oxidant (TRO) will need to be properly neutralized Viable Count
prior to discharge to meet existing compliance formula, we have received (Pytoplankton
Ballast Check 2
Results < 2 mins
standards. Releasing chlorinated water can feedback that product quality To comply with
> 10-50um)
negatively affect the aquatic ecosystem. All BWMS
can vary vastly from region IMO D-2 standard
Toxicogenic Vibro
manufacturers will generally specify the type Nil
of dechlorination chemicals suitable for their to region. Solubility is also Cholera (O1 & O139)
Lab Incubation
EC system. A list of recommended chemistries a common issue. Therefore, Escherichia Coli (E.Coli) up to 7 days
can be found in their operation manuals.
The two common chemicals seen are Sodium
it is always important to Potable Water Test Kit
Intestinal Enterococci
Thiosulphate, 30% and Sodium Metabisulphite, work with a professional,
38- 40%. Dechlorination chemicals can come in global supplier who is able to IN SUMMARY
Reactive Approach Proactive Approach
powder (solid) or in solutions (liquid). Long Process of Preventive
deliver consistent and good 1-2 weeks Monitoring System
Besides relying on the existing online analyser quality products worldwide at Figure 6: Indicative testing using onboard monitoring test kits to comply with IMO D-2 standard requirements
reading, having an onboard monitoring device
and incorporating this into existing preventative
predictable cost.”
maintenance plans will add significant value Bjorn Henrik Aaserud
Technical Manager Chemicals
in detecting early analyser performance drift,
triggering early rectification actions. This
could potentially prevent the system from
overgenerating the chlorine, or non-compliance
due to the lack of inadequate disinfection, due to
low chlorine generation.
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Be AN EARLY ADOPTER to tackle potential BWMS operational issues and

stay compliant with “Clean-Comply-Monitor” approach
Many vessel managers might currently be busy
researching the various BWMS from OEMs in
preparation for better planning and budgeting
before investing in the systems. For those vessels
which already have a Ballast Water Treatment
system, most will have experienced some form of
operational issues. We would continue to encourage
the customers to practise our “Clean-Comply-
Monitor” approach for their BWMS.
Cleaning the ballast water tanks with the right
chemistry such as Mud & Silt Remover will decrease
the “blanketing effects” for biological organisms.
By reducing their popluations or colonies, it will
lessen their opportunity for regrowth and improve
the rate of disinfection efficiency from the BWTS.
To validate the disinfection efficacy against the
10-50um sized organisms, an indicative monitoring
tool such as the Ballast Check 2 pen can be a handy
partner. As for the other biological tests listed in
the D-2 standards such as E-Coli and Enterrococci
bacteria, a good indicative test kit will be the potable
water test kit.
For EC type systems, an essential step is to
neutralise the excessive total chlorine before
releasing the discharge water back to the open
sea. Utilising a good and consistent quality
dechlorination chemical will ease the crew’s
trouble of not knowing if the treatment is robust
enough. Another good way is to utilise the TRO
test kit in determining the total chlorine for the
discharge water. Fine-tuning of the BWTS can be
made to ensure treatment effectiveness, along
with assurance that you are staying compliant with
discharge standards.
To conclude, be an early adopter to address
potential BWMS operational issues and stay
compliant with our “Clean-Comply-Monitor”
approach. Let’s all play our part in maintaining
the marine ecosystem.

References:
Dang and Lovell’s 2016 research paper - Microbial Surface Colonization and Biofilm Development in Marine Environments

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering August 2019 - Overview and Comparison of the IMO and the US Maritime Administration Ballast Water
Management Regulations

Riviera Maritime https://www.rivieramm.com/news-content-hub/lloydrsquos-register-to-only-accept-commissioning-testing-of-bwms-done-by-an-

approved-service-supplier-61074
10 11

Get an early start to be

compliant with the Ballast
Water Discharge Standards

Ballast water discharges by ships can have a negative Connect with our experts #stayintouch
impact on the marine environment. Today, all ships Be an early adopter of our “Clean- Follow our social media and video channels for
in operation are required to manage their ballast Han Ding Hou
Comply-Monitor” approach Product Marketing Manager for Water Solutions product demos and the latest insights.
water and sediments to both D-1 and D-2 discharge
linkedin.com/in/ding-hou-han
standards outlined in the Ballast Water Management Every detail matters when complying with
Convention (BWMC) regulation. the IMO Ballast Water Management D-2
Standards. Our “Clean-Comply-Monitor” April Teo
About Wilhelmsen Marine Products approach, which combines effective ballast Business Manager for Oil and Water Solutions
With one of the most comprehensive maritime water treatment, is vital for proactive Ballast linkedin.com/in/aprilteo
networks in the world, Wilhelmsen Ships Service has Water Compliance. @WilhelmsenMarineProducts Wilhelmsen
the ability to deliver to more than 2,200 ports in 125 Marine Products
countries worldwide. For more information, please get in
touch with our team. Visit wilhelmsen.
The marine solutions we supply include the Unitor com/marine-products/water-treatment-
brand of products, Timm ropes, Unicool refrigerants, solutions/ballast-water-treatment
and Unitor and Nalfleet marine chemicals. In Q1 2021, we will be
launching the BallastGuard Vimeo Visit our website
Clean, BallastGuard
Dechlorination chemicals
(in solids) and TRO
calibration solutions.
wilhelmsen.com

Wilhelmsen Ships Service

Phone: (+47) 67 58 40 00
Fax: (+47) 67 58 40 80
Postal Address:
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